


Evolution

by archiveofourscone



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Chloe also has a really cute Cubone who's a part of the story, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, If you're still reading my tags at this point, No Acapella, Pokemon AU, Pokemon!AU, Though the enemies part isn't very long, about Pokemon and two aca-nerds, and Beca getting that Charmander, bechloe - Freeform, hello, if that entices you at all, please read my fic, welcome to the Pokemon AU nobody asked for, with Chloe choosing a Bulbasaur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 17:12:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15124112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archiveofourscone/pseuds/archiveofourscone
Summary: Chloe Beale knew who Beca Mitchell was. She's known Beca since they were kids. They grew up in the same small town, they shared classes, and sometimes they even shared friends. Chloe Beale didn't talk to Beca Mitchell, though.Not until they were ten.Not until it was time for them to receive their first Pokemon.Or: The Pokemon!AU no one asked for but I wrote anyway.





	Evolution

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first Bechloe fic! If you've clicked on this fic, then you are in for a very long, very wonderful treat.
> 
> I got this idea while talking to my best friend, and then it just kind of stuck until I wrote it, and here we are, after three long days of writing, research, and revision. 
> 
> I'll keep this short though (because the fic definitely isn't). I hope you enjoy!

Chloe Beale had known Beca Mitchell since they were little. They had both grown up in Pallet Town, and Chloe remembers the first time she met the other girl. They were little, around five-years-old, and some of the older kids were picking on Beca about her size. Chloe had tried to intervene but Beca had lashed out at her, saying she didn’t need anyone’s help, and Chloe had left the playground crying. 

Ever since, Chloe had kept her distance. She made friends with the other kids in the neighborhood and tried to forget the anger Beca Mitchell had thrown at her that day.

She still saw Beca around, of course. Pallet Town was small, and everyone knew everyone else. They had classes together, and sometimes their friend group even bled into one another. Chloe didn’t ever talk to Beca, though.

Not until they were ten.

Not until it was finally time for Chloe to receive her first Pokemon from Professor Oak. 

Chloe had been looking forward to this day for a year, ever since her best friend, Aubrey, had received her first Pokemon the year before. Chloe waited for Aubrey outside of the laboratory, and Aubrey had introduced her Squirtle to Chloe excitedly.

So, Chloe Beale was excited to receive her first Pokemon. She did all her research and even got to the lab early (she had heard a story about a trainer who was late and ended up getting a stubborn and hard-to-train Pikachu and decided that that would not happen to her). 

Other ten-year-olds started to show up too. Stacey showed up not long after, and she buzzed with excitement as her and Chloe talked. Jesse showed up with his best friend Benji, and lastly, Beca Mitchell walked in looking like she would rather be anywhere else. She stood off to the side by herself, staring at her shoes as if they were the most interesting thing in the room.

Chloe couldn’t help but notice her, and while she wanted to go over to the girl and hopefully make her feel more comfortable, Chloe remembered Beca’s anger when they were five and decided to stay with Stacey instead.

“Alright, everyone,” Professor Oak stepped out of a room with a big smile on his face, “I hope you’re all ready to meet your new Pokemon.”

And just like that, Professor Oak gave them a speech before bringing Chloe in to choose her Pokemon first.

Chloe thought about it long and hard, thought of the type advantages and trainability before choosing the ball that held Bulbasaur inside. She was eager to let her Pokemon out of its ball, to meet it and become best friends with it, but she decided to wait until everyone else chose theirs.

Stacey chose Eevee. Jesse chose Squirtle. Benji chose Pikachu, and lastly, Beca chose Charmander.

Everyone but Beca started talking about their new adventure and what they planned to do, but Beca left without another word.

Chloe followed her.

“Hey, Beca!” Chloe ran after her, “Hey, wait!”

“What, Beale?” Beca was small for being ten, but she had already mastered a glare that could impress a Gengar, and it made Chloe want to shrink in on herself.

“I just, uh,” Chloe looked around the hallway they were in, “I wanted to wish you luck. You know, with whatever your plan is.”

“Whatever, Beale,” Beca turned to leave, “Have fun with that Bulbasaur. It won’t beat anything.”

~*~

Chloe ended up traveling with Stacey and Aubrey throughout Kanto. Aubrey had already beaten all eight gym leaders, had already competed in the Indigo league, but she wanted to help her two friends train and grow stronger before going to the next region.

Chloe had defeated Brock easily, her Bulbasaur, newly-caught Seel, and quickly-evolved Butterfree all strong against the rock-type Pokemon. Misty was a bit trickier, but Chloe caught an Oddish that helped even the playing field. 

Chloe loved the adventure of capturing new Pokemon and expanding her Pokedex, and with each new badge and new friend made, she was feeling very confident.

Chloe saw Beca again right before the last gym in Viridian City. She wanted to pretend like she didn’t, but Beca was already looking at her with a smirk, ready to say something cutting.

“You can’t possibly think you’re going to win against Giovanni.”

“I actually think I might,” Chloe defended herself, her Cubone held tightly against her. She had recently found him all by himself in the rain, and she couldn’t bear the thought of just leaving him there, so she coaxed him into a Pokeball. He didn’t like that much, though, so Chloe tended to leave him out of the ball, held against her.

Beca smirked, “With that weak Pokemon you’re holding, you’ll be lucky if you survive his Dugtrio.”

Chloe held onto Cubone tighter and Cubone waved his club at Beca, “Cubone is just as strong as any other Pokemon.”

“Not nearly as strong as Marowak.”

“Evolution means nothing when it comes to strength.”

“Wanna test that theory?” Beca was already pulling a Pokeball off her belt, ready for a fight.

“Yeah,” Chloe set Cubone down and reached for one of her own Pokeballs, “I definitely do.”

So, Chloe and Beca battled in Viridian Forest. Dewgong held up well against Charizard, defeating it quicker than Chloe thinks Beca expected, and Beca sent out Pinsir, angry and ready to win. 

The battle itself was relatively equal. All of Chloe’s Pokemon were strong and loved and fought hard, but Beca’s Pokemon were just as strong, and Chloe could see the devotion to their trainer in each of their eyes. 

After Venusaur defeated Beca’s Gyarados, she sent in Marowak, who used Venusaur’s exhaustion to win, and then there was only Cubone and Marowak, and Chloe was ready to prove her point.

“You could just give up now,” Beca said from her side of the battle, “You’re not going to win.”

Chloe was a lot of things. She was bubbly, energetic, affectionate, and especially stubborn, but a quitter was not one of those things. “There’s no way I’m giving up now.”

The battle was close, but Marowak just barely defeated Cubone, who collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

Chloe scooped Cubone up as Beca returned Marowak to its Pokeball. 

“Evolution matters,” was all Beca said before she left, and Chloe rushed to the Pokemon center.

~*~

It took work, but Chloe defeated Giovanni by a hair. She registered for the Indigo League tournament, and she did well, up until she had to battle Beca Mitchell in the semi finals, who smirked at Chloe, arms crossed cockily as she barely won.

~*~

Chloe was fifteen now, still traveling with her Pokemon but working towards becoming a Pokemon professor. Her team didn’t change much, though now she had a Ditto that she caught from Cerulean Cave. Her Ditto was cute and strange, and it enjoyed the company of Cubone, who preferred to ride on Chloe’s shoulders now.

Many of Chloe’s friends were now in other regions, catching and training new species of Pokemon and working towards different leagues. Stacey and Aubrey were traveling Johto currently, and they had just defeated Morty, the Ghost gym leader, with Stacey using her Umbreon and Aubrey using her Houndoom. They kept trying to get Chloe to come with them, but Choe was happy to stay in Kanto, though she did use Pidgeot to visit them every now and then. 

She sometimes wondered where Beca was. Last she heard, Beca had came first in the Johto League and was on her way to Hoenn.

~*~

Chloe didn’t actually _see_ Beca again until she was sixteen.

She was at her house in Pallet Town with her mom and dad, and she was in the backyard, Venusaur laid out next to her enjoying the sun, Cubone running around after Ditto.  
Chloe was on her back looking up at the sky when she saw a Charizard flying over her, and it landed a few houses down. Chloe knew that that meant Beca was home, probably to visit her dad and stepmom. 

Venusaur made a noise of complaint at the sky as Charizard cast a shadow down on them, and Chloe giggled, running a hand over Venusaur’s rough skin. “Don’t worry, sweets,” Chloe pulled herself up to sit leaning up against the large Pokemon, “Charizard was only in the way of the sun for a moment.” Venusaur turned her head to nudge Chloe gently and then put her head back down on the grass.

~*~

A few days later, Chloe ran into Beca at Professor Oak’s lab, almost literally, but Cubone made a small noise so that she looked up before knocking them all over.

Beca Mitchell stood before her with a smirk that wasn’t as cutting as the last time Chloe had seen her.

“I see you still haven’t evolved that Cubone.”

There was something different about Beca Mitchell now, Chloe thought. She didn’t seem as harsh or angry.

Chloe pulled Cubone off of her shoulder and held him against her chest protectively, “Well, Cubone doesn’t really want to evolve quite yet.”

Beca smiled then, and it was small but almost certainly there. “Well, he might be too cute to evolve.”

Chloe was confused. This Beca, the one that stood in front of her awkward and unsure, didn’t match the Beca that Chloe knew. The Beca that Chloe knew was angry and mean and she didn’t care who she hurt. 

“Um,” Chloe smiled slightly, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

Chloe smirked, “You kind of just did.”

Beca rolled her eyes, but that small smile was still there, “I meant another question.”

Chloe readjusted Cubone in her arms so that they were both more comfortable, “Go ahead.”

Beca ran a hand through her hair nervously, and Chloe caught a glimpse of a row of piercings running up her ear.

“Why is Cubone always out of his Pokeball? Isn’t that unusual?”

“Oh,” Chloe smiled and scratched Cubone under his chin, “Some Pokemon don’t like being in the Pokeball. So, even though I coaxed this cutie to join me,” Chloe tickled one of Cubone’s feet and the Pokemon giggled in response, “He sort of grew an attachment, so he never wanted to stay in his Pokeball for very long.”

Beca nodded and then her eyebrows came together in confusion, “You didn’t catch Cubone?”

“Not in the traditional sense,” Chloe explained, putting Cubone back on her shoulders, “Stacey, Aubrey, and I were on our way to Vermillion City, and it was raining, and we had just set up camp when we start to hear this pitiful crying sound. Stacey and Aubrey were too freaked out to go look into it, but I took Venusaur, well, actually, she was still Bulbasaur then, but I took her to investigate, and there was this tiny little Cubone shivering and crying. It was obvious that a trainer had left him behind, because the only place to find wild Cubone is in Pokemon Tower, so I got him into a Pokeball and to a Pokemon Center and the rest is history.”

Beca’s smile grew as Chloe rambled through the explanation of how she got Cubone, and Chloe wondered what could’ve changed Beca so much.

“He’s really lucky to have you.”

“Uh,” Chloe didn’t know what to say, so she just said an awkward, “Thanks.”

They stood in an awkward silence until Beca finally said, “I, uh, have to go meet the professor. I asked him if it was okay if I came to check up on all my Pokemon.”

“Oh, yeah,” Chloe got out of Beca’s way, “Of course. Have fun.”

Beca smiled and waved awkwardly as she left. Chloe stood frozen in the hall before she turned around quickly and called, “Hey, Beca?”

Beca turned too, “Yeah?”

“If you’re, um, if you’re going to be in Pallet Town for a little while, we should hang out.”

Beca smiled again, and Chloe was sure she had seen Beca Mitchell smile more in the past conversation than every other time they talked put together, “Yeah, I would like that.”

~*~

Aubrey was not excited to hear about the fact that Chloe befriended Beca.

“Do you remember how she treated you for sixteen years, Chloe?” Aubrey said into the video call, the excitement from her latest gym win wearing off quickly, “She treated you like dirt, not to mention all the horrible things she said about Cubone.”

Cubone perked up at the mention of his name, and he dropped his treat to crawl into Chloe’s lap so that he could see Aubrey.

“She’s different, Bree,” Chloe tried to explain, “I don’t know what happened, but she’s,” Chloe paused to think of the adjective she wanted, “She’s softer and warmer and far less angry.”

“So, you decided to become friends with her,” Aubrey said as if she just couldn’t get why Chloe would do such a thing.

“People deserve second chances, Bree.”

It was then that Stacey came onscreen and she nudged Aubrey out of the way, “Let’s let Chloe make her own decisions so that I can tell her about how my Magcargo destroyed Jasmine’s Steelix.”

Chloe sighed as Stacey took the conversation away, praising her Pokemon and finally, Aubrey started to tell Chloe about her own battle.

~*~

A knock on the door pulled Chloe’s attention away from the television so that she could get up and answer it.

Beca was on the other side, looking around nervously.

“Hey,” Chloe leaned against the doorframe with a smile, “What’s up?”

“I, uh,” Beca ran a hand through her hair, and Chloe was beginning to see that that was a nervous habit for her, something she must not even notice that she does, “I was wondering if you wanted to come to Saffron City with me. I need to do some shopping, and I heard there are some pretty good restaurants there, and if you don’t have a flying type, Charizard could probably take both of us-”

“Beca?”

Beca looked up at Chloe with wide eyes.

“I can take Pidgeot,” Chloe smiled, “He’s used to me flying on his back anyway.”

“Oh,” Beca smiled too, finally seeming to calm down, “Yeah, that would probably work best.”

“Here, come on in,” Chloe moved out of the way of the door, “I just have to grab some stuff and leave a note for my parents.”  
Beca came inside awkwardly and stood in the entryway, looking around. 

Chloe realized that Beca didn’t follow her into the living room as she turned around and saw Beca looking at her shoes. “You could come in more, you know.”

“I didn’t want to impose.”

“Beca, please actually come in.”

Beca smiled as she moved further into the house, reaching the living room with some hesitation. Cubone was sat on the couch where Chloe left him, and a Meowth looked up from the back of the sofa, giving Beca a very disinterested look.

“Oh, don’t mind her,” Chloe scratched behind the Meowth’s ears, “Buns is just an old softie.”

Beca laughed a little bit, “Buns?”

“My mom’s nickname for her,” Chloe said while looking for something on the coffee table, “My dad’s Growlithe is probably lurking around here ready to pounce too.”

Cubone looked up and noticed Beca, immediately scrambling off the couch to run up to her and hold his arms up for her to pick him up.

“Um, Chloe?”

Chloe looked up from the coffee table having found her wallet and smiled, “It means he wants you to pick him up, Becs.”

Beca looked freaked out, “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Chloe threw her wallet and keys into her backpack, “Maybe because he likes you.”

Beca looked down at Cubone again and he looked insistent, waving his bone club around. Beca watched as Chloe moved around the room gathering the things she’ll need and then back down to Cubone before finally picking him up. Beca felt awkward holding him until he snuggled into her, and she couldn’t help but smile softly.

Chloe looked up from pulling on her shoes and took in the moment before standing and saying, “I’ll be back in a second. Some of my Pokemon are out in the backyard and I need to put them back into their Pokeballs before we leave.”

Beca only nodded, and she followed Chloe to the sliding door, curious what other Pokemon Chloe might have caught since their battle six years ago. Chloe’s Venusaur didn’t surprise her, though the Pokemon was huge and a bit threatening, but Beca was particularly interested by one Pokemon.

“You caught a Ditto?” Beca asked as soon as Chloe came back in, her Pokeballs on her belt.

“Oh yeah,” Chloe laughed a bit, “Tricky little thing to catch. Chansey did not appreciate that battle. She refused to battle for weeks.”

“You have a Chansey?” Beca couldn’t help how shocked she was, “I thought only the nurses at the Pokemon Centers had Chanseys.”

“I spent forever in the Safari Zone trying to catch her,” Chloe took Cubone from Beca and put him on her shoulders and Beca could see him smile despite his face being hidden by the skull helmet, “Now come on. We need to stop by the lab so that I can trade out one of my Pokemon for Pidgeot.”

Chloe grabbed Beca’s hand and pulled her out of the house, and even though Beca didn’t like physical contact, she didn’t pull away.

After Chloe had Pidgeot in her team, Beca let Charizard out of his Pokeball, and they all flew to Saffron City.

Beca loved flying, and Charizard loved it even more, doing barrel rolls and flips as Beca held on tightly. When Beca looked over at Chloe, she was smiling, holding Cubone in front of her and petting Pidgeot’s soft feathers. Beca felt something she didn’t quite understand, a feeling she never really had before, but she brushed it aside, instead coaxing Charizard into another flip.

In no time at all, they were in Saffron City, landing in front of the Pokemon Center.

Charizard nudged Beca softly as she rubbed over his wings before she put him back in his Pokeball, and Chloe did the same with Pidgeot.

“So,” Chloe said, “Where to first?”

They went to a few shops that Beca needed to go to, and Chloe pulled a reluctant Beca into a few others before they sat down at a café for coffee.

Cubone was under the table eating a treat while Chloe and Beca talked, starting with their day and moving on to other topics.

Even though they had only hung out a few times since Chloe ran into Beca at Professor Oak’s lab, Chloe was starting to learn a lot about the girl across from her. Like how she was so happy when Charmander was the last Pokemon left for her to take, or how she grew up reading book after book about proper training techniques and the best way to get the most out of a Pokemon team. Chloe thought it was cute how Beca would get a little sparkly in her eyes whenever she talked about her Pokemon.

They were on the topic of traveling when Beca asked, “How come you didn’t go to any of the other regions?”

“I guess I was just happy to stay in Kanto,” Chloe said while breaking off a piece of her pastry and giving it to Cubone, who took it happily, “Everyone else left as soon as they participated in the league, but they hadn’t caught every Pokemon in Kanto or even encountered them. I wanted to know more about the Pokemon here before moving onto somewhere else.”

Beca rested her head in her hand, “That makes sense.”

“Weren’t you in Hoenn?”

“Yeah,” Beca sighed, “I had actually just defeated Wallace.”

“Why did you come home then? Weren’t you qualified to compete in their league?”

“I was,” Beca looked down at her lap, and Chloe noticed that she looked a little sad, “It’s just, the battling, it used to be fun. I was good, and I made it through three leagues without any issue. My Pokemon were strong and so loyal, but it just wasn’t fun anymore.”

Cubone’s head perked up, and he climbed into Beca’s lap without hesitation. Chloe smiled at Beca’s shocked expression before grabbing Beca’s hand across the table, “Maybe you just need to find the fun in battling again.”

Beca gave Chloe a small smile, “Maybe.”

Chloe let them sit in their comfortable silence before saying, “You’re very different, Beca Mitchell.”

“I know I used to be a jerk,” Beca said, “Especially to you, and I’m really sorry. I’m trying really hard to be different.”

Cubone took Beca’s pastry and handed it to her, causing Beca to start laughing and Chloe joined in.

“I think you’re not doing half bad, Beca.”

~*~

Beca and Chloe started to hang out every day. Some days they just sat around watching old reruns of league battles, placing small bets on who would win. One time, Beca lost her last eggroll because she bet on that kid with the Pikachu, and the battle was close, but he lost, and Chloe took Beca’s eggroll and ate it, telling Beca just how good it was.

Other days, Chloe took Beca out on different adventures.

On this particular day, Chloe drug Beca out to the beach south of Pallet Town.

“Chloe, it’s early,” Beca whined from behind her, “What are we doing out here?”

“Come on, grumpy,” Chloe grabbed Beca’s hand and continued to drag her across the sand, “I have to do something for Professor Oak, and I’m taking you with me.”  
“This hour is ungodly,” Beca complained yet she still let Chloe pull her to the waves.

“It’ll be fun,” Chloe pulled a Pokeball off of her belt, “I promise.”

Beca smiled, “Okay.”

“Alright.” Chloe threw the Pokeball and a Lapras came out, making a happy noise from the water.

Beca rushed forward, eyes wide with excitement, “Oh my god, you have a Lapras!”

Chloe smiled and thought about how cute Beca was when she was excited. Beca was running her hands over Lapras’ long head, talking about the different moves Lapras can use. Cubone poked Chloe’s cheek, pointing at Beca and Chloe could see the smile in Cubone’s eyes.

“I know, bud,” Chloe whispered to him, “It’s really cute.”

Beca turned around, “Where did you find a Lapras? I spent so long on Gyarados trying to find one.”

Chloe came up next to Beca and scratched under Lapras’ chin, “She and I met on my way to Cinnabar Island. She and Dewgong helped me defeat Blaine.”

“Dude, that is so cool.”

Lapras turned so that Chloe could climb onto her shell. Beca stayed on shore shocked.

“Becs?”

“Yeah?”

Chloe offered Beca her hand, “Are you coming?”

Beca took Chloe’s hand with a huge grin, “This is so cool.”

Lapras set off, and Beca sat as close to the edge as possible without falling into the water, excitedly looking around her and into the deep water. Chloe watched from her spot, holding onto Cubone tightly so that he didn’t fall into the water. 

“Hey, Chlo?”

“Yeah?”

“What did Professor Oak send you out here for?”

“Oh,” Chloe smiled and took out another Pokeball, “Do you have a water type, or do you need to borrow one?”

Beca took a Pokeball off of her belt, “I’ve got Poliwrath.”

Lapras came to a stop slowly.

“That’s perfect.” Chloe threw her ball to let Slowpoke out, and Beca followed suit with Poliwrath.

Beca was smirking at Chloe as her Pokeball returned to her hand, “You really have a thing for Pokemon who aren’t fully evolved, don’t you?”

“I just don’t think that evolving Pokemon should be the sole purpose of training them. Sometimes they’re happy to stay the way they are.”

Slowpoke nodded at Beca slowly, and Beca smiled at him, “I’m starting to learn that.”

Chloe set Cubone down on Lapras’ shell by her backpack and pulled her clothes off so that she was just in her bathing suit. She slid into the water and used Slowpoke to stay afloat, “Are you coming?”

“Oh,” Beca’s cheeks went pink, “Yeah. One sec.” Beca turned around and pulled her clothes off too, feeling naked despite the fact that she had a bathing suit on. She looked up and Cubone was looking at her with a curious expression, his head tilted to the side. Beca gave him a thumbs-up, and Cubone returned it excitedly.

“Beca, come on!” Chloe splashed some water up on Beca.

“God, Beale,” Beca slid into the water, “Give a girl a moment.” Poliwrath swam up to Beca and let her hold him to stay above water, “You never told me what Professor Oak wanted us to do.”

“Right!” Chloe looked up at Cubone, “Hey, bud. Can you get the breathers out of my bag?”

Beca was impressed as Cubone dug around in Chloe’s backpack and threw something into the water. Chloe handed one to Beca and then said, “Now, remember to stay on Lapras, got it? Water is not good for you.”

Cubone nodded.

Then Chloe turned to her Lapras, “Make sure he stays on, okay girl?”

Lapras made a happy noise and nodded, and Beca couldn’t help but admire the relationship that Chloe had with her Pokemon.

“So, Professor Oak needs us to assess the amount of Tentacool in the area,” Chloe said to Beca. 

“Why?”

“Because they were starting to over-populate the ecosystem, so Professor Oak wants to see if the issue has figured itself out.”

Beca nodded, “Are we doing this in any official sense?”

“Trust me, you’ll know if they’re still in excess,” Chloe held up her own breather, “Ready to go?”

“I think so.”

“Alright. Follow my lead. Slowpoke and I have done this before.”

Chloe put the breather in her mouth and held onto Slowpoke as he dove under the surface. Beca followed suit, holding onto Poliwrath as he followed.

A few Pokemon swam by them. Beca watched a school of Horsea and Seadra pass beside them and the school of Pokemon barely even glanced their way. There were a few Krabby and Kingler on the ocean floor, and Poliwag were bobbing near the surface.

Chloe kept going until they were met with a wall of Tentacool, looking vicious and ready for a fight. Chloe stopped Slowpoke and put her hand out to stop Beca, and when Beca looked over, it looked like Chloe was trying to assess the situation. She then looked at Beca and pointed to the surface, swimming up with Slowpoke following her.

When they broke the surface, Beca took the breather out of her mouth, “You weren’t kidding when you said over-populated.”

“Nope,” Chloe waved her hand at Lapras in the distance, “And as far as we can tell, they’re growing more and more violent towards the other Pokemon in the ecosystem.”

Lapras started to make her way over to them.

“What do we do about it?” Beca asked.

“Nothing,” Chloe smiled at Slowpoke and rubbed a hand over his back, “We keep monitoring the area to see if the ecosystem naturally evens itself back out again.”

“Why?”

“Because it was a natural over-population,” Chloe said while climbing back onto Lapras’ back, “If it happened unnaturally, like if someone dropped a foreign species into the area or something like that, then we’d have to do something about it, but populations fluctuate, and nature has a way of figuring itself out. Plus, I know it might look like it, but the number of Tentacool hasn’t reach dangerous levels, and the other Pokemon have adapted to the situation.” Chloe reached out and helped Beca back up too.

Cubone was munching on a sandwich as Chloe and Beca pulled towels out of their bags.

“Cubone,” Chloe said, “You know those sandwiches were for Beca and me.”

Cubone looked down as he offered the half-eaten sandwich back to Chloe, but she giggled instead of becoming angry. “No, bud. That one is yours now.” Cubone still looked down, his eyes downcast, and Chloe ran a hand over his skull helmet. “Just ask next time, okay?” Cubone nodded and then happily took another bite.

Beca laughed, “You’re so nice to him.”

“He was just hungry,” Chloe said as she toweled herself off, and Beca averted her eyes, not knowing why looking at Chloe in her bathing suit made her cheeks warm and butterflies flutter in her stomach, “And I made plenty, since I knew that Cubone would steal one.”

“Smart move.”

“Thank you,” Chloe threw Beca a sandwich, “Now eat so that we can enjoy ourselves.”

“Won’t Professor Oak be expecting us back soon?”

“I told him we would be back late.”

Beca smiled and took a bite.

The two girls spent the rest of their time alternating between swimming and sunbathing. At one point, they were lying on their backs, and Chloe took Beca’s hand, pointing out different shapes in the clouds, and Beca wished that they could stay on Lapras’ shell forever.

~*~

Chloe was eighteen when Beca showed up at her doorstep looking sheepish. The two had grown closer and closer since they started hanging out, and they spent almost all of their time together. They had a lot of adventures over the past two years, like Beca joining Chloe on her different assignments for Professor Oak and discovering new places and new Pokemon around Kanto.

Chloe looked Beca over, wondering why Beca seemed so nervous, “Hey Becs, what’s up?”

“I think I’m going to go back to Hoenn and compete in their upcoming league competition.” Beca spat out the words, and she looked worried.

Chloe smiled, and she was sad that Beca would be leaving Pallet Town indefinitely but more excited that Beca finally found enjoyment in battling again.

Chloe pulled Beca against her and Beca sunk into the contact.

“I’ll be sure to watch your matches,” Chloe said into Beca’s shoulder, “And you better call, Mitchell, because I’m going to be very angry if you don’t.”

“I will,” Beca wrapped her arms tightly around Chloe, “I promise.”

“Good,” Chloe pulled away and smiled at Beca, “You’re going to do amazing, Becs.”

Suddenly, Cubone pushed between the two and raised his arms up to Beca, who picked him up with a smile. She nuzzled against the skull Cubone wears, “I’ll miss you too, buddy.”

Watching Beca with Cubone made Chloe feel warm. Now would be the perfect time to tell her, Chloe thought, but she decided against it. Instead, she hugged Beca again before she left, throwing her bag over her shoulder and hopping on Charizard’s back.

~*~

Chloe watched every single one of Beca’s matches in the Hoenn League, and for each one, Chloe cheered loudly every time Beca won.

~*~

Beca and Chloe talked frequently as Beca continued traveling. Beca called Chloe from every Pokemon Center that she could, talking excitedly about defeating gym leaders in Sinnoh and the new friends she made from battling and traveling. She told Chloe about all of the Pokemon she caught, and sometimes the Pokemon pushed their way into the video chat, nudging Beca aside curiously.

While Beca went on new adventures in the new region, Chloe had moved to Cerulean City to be near Mt. Moon for her research after finally becoming an official Pokemon professor. Each day she took Clefable and Cubone and studied the prayer patterns and strange rituals of the Pokemon thought to be from outer space.

Chloe enjoyed the work, and she could see how much Clefable liked helping her. Cubone took to chasing the mountain’s Clefairy until Clefable caught his tail and gave him a glare. Since then, Cubone stayed close to Chloe as she sat and observed.

~*~

Chloe had had a hard day. The rain from the night before carried into the morning, so she couldn’t ride her bike to Mt. Moon, and she had to walk the entire distance with an umbrella over her and Cubone, the wind whipping and pulling at her raincoat. Then, when she actually got to the mountain, all of the Clefairy and Clefable were hiding. They didn’t even emerge when Chloe let Clefable out of her Pokeball, so she didn’t get any work done. And on top of it all, her umbrella broke on the way home.

Chloe was soaking wet, tired, and disappointed, and all she wanted to do was mope around her apartment in pajamas and watch crappy television. She felt like she had earned it.

After a call to the local pizza place and a long, hot shower, Chloe heard knocking at her door, and Cubone ran to it, looking up at her expectantly.

“You know it’s just my take-out, bud,” she picked him up and grabbed her wallet, “I don’t know why you’re so excited.”

Chloe opened the door, and it wasn’t the delivery boy. Beca Mitchell was on the other side smiling.

“Becs!” Chloe set Cubone down so that she could hug Beca tightly, “Oh my god, what are you doing here?”

Beca laughed as she returned the hug, “You talked so much about this apartment. I just had to see it.”

Chloe pulled Beca in the apartment and closed the door, “I thought you were in Sinnoh.”

“That’s the nice thing about having a large flying-type Pokemon,” Beca picked Cubone up and hugged him to her tightly, “It means that I can come see my friend who I haven’t seen in two years.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Becs.”

Beca looked at Cubone as she said, “Chloe knows I was talking to you, right, bud?”

Cubone kicked his feet excitedly.

“Alright, now you’re just a jerk,” someone knocked on the door, and this time Chloe was sure that it was the delivery boy, “And jerks don’t get any pizza.”

“Chlo, come on,” Beca ran after her laughing, “Wait, did you get Hawaiian?”

The two caught up over dinner with Beca sneaking Cubone some of her crust and Chloe pretending not to notice. Beca talked about her recent win against Fantina , releasing the Gengar she used for her win so that she could pet him. Gengar preened under the attention, and despite the fact that Chloe didn’t understand ghost Pokemon, had never raised one of her own, she loved the way Beca doted on and praised Gengar. 

Cubone was also fascinated by Gengar, chasing his tail and looking up at Gengar with his head tilted to the side. Chloe thought Gengar would find the attention annoying, but he didn’t. He just pat Cubone’s head, and Cubone responded with happy chirps.

“That’s enough about me, though,” Beca watched the two Pokemon interact, “I want to hear all about your research. How’s it going?”

Chloe deflated with the reminder of her horrible day.

“Hey,” Beca moved closer to Chloe on the couch and grabbed her hand, “Is everything okay?”

Chloe looked down at their joined hands and thought about how Beca never initiated contact before. It was always Chloe hugging Beca, Chloe pulling Beca by her hand, or Chloe cuddling into Beca.

This was the first time that Beca took her hand first, and every emotion that Chloe thought that she had packed away in the two-year separation bubbled back up again in full force.

It was easy to ignore the crush Chloe had on Beca when she was in a whole other region. Now that she was there, in Chloe’s apartment, holding Chloe’s hand, it was really hard to ignore it.

“Yeah,” Chloe breathed out with a laugh, hoping Beca didn’t notice the blush rising to her cheeks, “You just asked on a bad day. Any other day and I would ramble about my work for hours.”

Beca dropped Chloe’s hand to wrap an arm around Chloe’s shoulders and pull Chloe to her, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to ask again tomorrow.”  
“How long are you staying?”

Beca smiled, “However long you’ll let me use up your hospitality.”

~*~

Beca ended up staying for a week.

On days that Chloe had to work, Beca tagged along, happy to sit and watch Chloe write down observations and interact with the Clefairy and Clefable. Cubone would generally find his way into Beca’s lap, happy to sit there and stay out of trouble.

On all the other days, Chloe and Beca filled their time walking around Cerulean City or lazing around Chloe’s apartment. Chloe introduced Beca to some of the other professors she shared a lab with (when she was actually in her lab), and Beca joked about going to the gym to win another Cascade Badge, but Chloe pulled her away.

Chloe hugged Beca tight on her last day, her bag already packed and ready to go.

“You should visit more often,” Chloe said into Beca’s shoulder, trying hard not to let the tears spill over.

“How about I visit after I win my next badge?” Beca suggested, “Instead of calling, like we normally do.”

“That would be perfect.” Chloe pulled away from the hug and kissed Beca’s cheek, smiling at the blush that rose from the contact, “Fly safe, Becs.”

Beca threw her bag over her shoulder, “See you soon, Chlo.”

~*~

Beca kept her promise. Chloe came home from her lab one day to find Beca leaned up against her door, Byron’s Mine Badge held in her hand for Chloe to see.

Chloe handed Cubone to Beca so that she could easily open the door, and as she prepared dinner, she insisted Beca tell her every detail about her win.

~*~

Beca’s visits became more and more frequent after that. Instead of only visiting after winning a badge, Beca started visiting Chloe in Cerulean City randomly, giving new reasons every time Chloe came home to find Beca waiting at her door.

“You make the best spaghetti.” Said with a shrug and a smile.

“Gengar started to miss Cubone. It would be a tragedy not to let them play together.” Said as she let Gengar out of his Pokeball.

“One more night in a sleeping bag and I’m going to throw myself off Mt. Coronet .” Said as she flopped onto Chloe’s couch where she usually slept since Chloe didn’t have a guest bedroom.

Well, until recently.

Chloe didn’t know what shifted, but a few visits ago, she was woken up in the middle of the night by a sleepy Beca climbing into her bed and snuggling up beside her. Chloe was so tired, she didn’t even notice until she woke up with her back pressed to Beca’s front and an arm thrown around her waist.

When Beca woke up, she apologized, stating that the couch was starting to hurt her back, but it became a routine from then on.

Beca would fall asleep on the couch, Chloe in her bed, and the two would wake up tangled around one another.

Chloe should mind the contact, should mind being in this situation with Beca, but it was nice. Chloe was a cuddler, and her regular cuddle buddy was a boney Pokemon with rough skin. Cuddling Beca was nice. Beca was soft and warm, and she smelled like grass and campfire smoke.

The cuddling did nothing to help Chloe’s crush though. Chloe just found herself falling harder and deeper, with all the “likes” associated with Beca slowly turning to “loves.”

One morning, Chloe woke up with Beca’s head on her chest, and as if Beca could sense that Chloe was awake, she said, “You should take some time off and come to Sinnoh with me.”

“Yeah?” Chloe started running her fingers through Beca’s tangled hair.

“Yeah,” Beca shifted slightly to become more comfortable, “I’m going to be competing in Sinnoh’s league tournament soon, and I, uh,” Beca’s fingers messed with the hem of Chloe’s shirt nervously, “I would really like it if you’d come.”

“Of course I’ll come,” Chloe said simply, because for her, it wasn’t even a question.

~*~

The next week, after Beca had left to register for the competition and do some extra training, Chloe packed a bag and flew Pidgeot all the way to Sinnoh, only stopping in Hoenn for a quick break before arriving in front of the Pokemon Center near where the stadium was.

Beca met her there with a smile and a quick hug before showing Chloe around the town.

Beca sat with Chloe and Cubone in the stands for the other battles, and Chloe smiled every time someone came up to Beca asking for an autograph or advice. Chloe didn’t even know Beca had become so famous, though placing first in three leagues (almost four, because Chloe is sure Beca will win this one too) must have gotten Beca some attention. 

Each time someone came up, Beca would blush and smile and push some hair out of her face as she took the pen offered to her, and Chloe couldn’t help but think that it was the cutest thing she had ever seen.

When it was finally Beca’s turn to battle, Chloe yelled and cheered from the stands and Cubone waved a small flag Chloe made for him that read, “Go Beca!” Every now and then, Chloe would notice that Beca would look up at her from the field with a smile, and Chloe would smile and cheer even harder.

~*~

Beca barely won the final round, but her opponent’s Milotic couldn’t stand up to Beca’s Cacturne. Chloe jumped up from her seat as she cheered, and when she finally could, when Beca came to find her after, she hugged Beca as tightly as possible.

~*~

Beca took some time off between finishing the Sinnoh League and heading out to Unova, and instead of staying in Pallet Town with her dad, Beca asked if she could stay in Cerulean City with Chloe.

Chloe couldn’t say yes quickly enough. 

Having Beca in her apartment all the time was interesting for Chloe. Chloe expected Beca to be messy, but she was actually fairly tidy and organized. Because Beca didn’t have much to do during the day, Chloe would come home from the lab to find Beca cleaning or cooking dinner, and she always greeted Chloe with a soft smile. 

All of their Pokemon would be out and interacting with one another. Chloe was surprised to come home one day to see Venusaur completely okay with Beca’s Persian cuddled up to her, and Beca’s Primeape loved teaching Chloe’s Sandshrew new moves. Beca’s Flareon would be asleep on the couch next to Chloe’s Vileplume, and Charizard would be curled up in the corner fast asleep, flaming tail twitching slightly as Chloe’s Eevee chased it.

Chloe came into her apartment one day to see a large Muk waiting for her at the door, and since then insisted that Beca keep him in the Pokeball, if only to keep her apartment clean of poisonous goo.

Every day, as soon as Chloe came into the apartment, Cubone would wiggle in her arms to be put down so that he could chase after Gengar’s tail, and Clefable would follow to try and keep Cubone in line.

Chloe loved it, loved that it felt domestic and warm, even if Beca would never see her as anything other than a friend.

But Beca would look up from cooking and smile that smile that she saved just for Chloe, and Chloe would feel the deep whisper of hope tug at her heart.

~*~

On her twenty-third birthday, Chloe came home to a suspiciously empty apartment. She didn’t even have Cubone with her, because Beca insisted that she keep him that morning, holding Cubone against her chest as they drifted back to sleep. Chloe had been a bit unwilling to leave Cubone, but she couldn’t say no when he snuggled into Beca and fisted his tiny claws into her shirt.

So, Chloe was mostly alone as she entered her apartment, save for Clefable and Abra, the newest addition to her party since Professor Oak found him abandoned and decided Chloe was the best trainer to help him feel comfortable and grow stronger.

“Beca?” Chloe called into the apartment, and she got nothing in response.

“Anyone?”

Still nothing.

“Eevee?” Chloe tried, kicking her shoes off, “Vileplume?”

Chloe moved into her kitchen to find a note in Beca’s curly handwriting on the fridge. “Went out for a bit,” it read, “I put all of your Pokemon back in their balls except for Venusaur because she kind of scares me. She’s asleep in your room.”

Chloe giggled at that. She never understood how a girl who was so close to Charizard on a daily basis could be afraid of her lazy Venusaur.

“P.S.~,” it continued, “I have commandeered your Cubone. Love, Beca.”

Chloe pulled the note off of the fridge and took it into her room. Sure enough, Venusaur was taking up most of the floor, and she didn’t even wake up as Chloe moved around her to change out of her work clothes.

After changing, Chloe let the rest of her Pokemon out of their Pokeballs and sat down on the couch, getting comfortable before Eevee jumped up and bumped her head against Chloe’s hand so that Chloe would pet her.

It was an hour before Beca came home with Cubone on her shoulders and quite a few bags in hand.

Beca smiled when she saw Chloe on the couch, “Happy birthday.”

Chloe smiled back, “Thanks. Do you need any help with those bags?”

“Nope,” Beca struggled to put them on the kitchen counter, and Cubone giggled at Beca’s antics.

Chloe got up from the couch and pulled Cubone off Beca’s shoulders so that she could hold him against her chest, having missed him all day, “What did you get?”

Beca smirked, “When did you get so nosy, Beale?”

“That’s Professor Beale,” Chloe hit Beca’s nose gently, “And I’ve always been nosy. So, what did you get?”

Beca moved the bags out of Chloe’s reach, “Nope.”

“Please?” Chloe gave her best pout, and Cubone looked up at Chloe and then did the same, and Chloe could see Beca breaking, watched her almost give in, but Beca closed her eyes and shook her head with a laugh.

“Nice try,” she nudged Chloe out of the kitchen, “But I’m going to have to kick you out.”

“It’s my apartment, Becs.”

“It is,” Beca started pulling things out and hiding them from view, “And I am taking control.”

Chloe smiled and allowed herself to get pushed out of the kitchen. As she left, she heard Beca let Gengar out of his Pokeball to help her with whatever she had planned.

Chloe sat in the living room half paying attention to her television, but mostly, she was listening to Beca in the kitchen. Every now and then she would hear Beca whisper instructions to Gengar, and on a few occasions, she heard Beca’s laugh as Gengar tried to help but ultimately made something worse.

Vileplume got bored of sitting in the living room, so she joined Beca too, and slowly but surely, Chloe lost all of her Pokemon due to curiosity.

“Beca?”

“Yeah?”

Chloe turned around and there was a little bit of flour on Beca’s nose and on Gengar’s spikes on his head.

“Are you almost done? I’ve been abandoned by my Pokemon and I’m bored.”

“Almost,” Beca looked up, and Chloe thinks she’s never seen someone look so attractive, “Stop peaking.”

“But I’m bored,” Chloe whined and fell back on the couch.

“You mentioned.”

“Beca.”

“Ten minutes, Chlo.”

“Beca.” Chloe held out the last syllable.

“You’re impatient.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“How did you become a Pokemon professor again?”

“The Clefairy at Mt. Moon don’t greet me with bags full of mystery and then refuse to let me know what’s in them.” 

Beca laughed, “There’s hardly anything mysterious about the bags.”

“There is when you won’t tell me what’s inside.”

Something dinged and Chloe sat up, looking at Beca with a wide smile.

“Just another minute,” Beca said before Chloe could ask whether she could come in the kitchen.

Chloe fell back down on the couch and heard Beca hand stuff off to all the Pokemon capable of carrying things without dropping them.

“Okay,” Beca said, “You can come into the kitchen now.”

Chloe got up from the couch and saw that the table was set with food filling the small surface.

“I know you were a bit bummed that you have to wait until the weekend to go see your parents,” Beca explained while taking a seat, “and I know Aubrey and Stacey can’t make it back from Unova until next week, so I wanted to do a little something for you for your birthday.”

“You cooked?” Chloe took a seat across from Beca, who threw her apron over Gengar and smiled as he waved his claws around to get the fabric off his face.

“I made your favorite,” Beca started to fill Chloe’s plate, “And I baked a cake.”

“You did?”

“Of course,” Beca smiled, “It wouldn’t be your birthday without a cake. You prefer chocolate, right?”

Chloe couldn’t remember when Beca learned all of these small details about her, and she couldn’t remember even mentioning to Beca that chocolate was her favorite kind of cake, and it made more of those “likes” turn to “loves” with that big, special smile Beca saved just for her.

“Yeah,” Chloe smiled back, “Chocolate is my favorite.”

“Good. The icing might be a little strange, because Gengar tried helping and then got a little carried away.” Beca shot a half-hearted glare at her Pokemon, and he only gave her a small shrug in response.

“I’m sure it’ll be perfect, Becs.”

And it was. The food was delicious, and the cake was so good that Chloe had another slice (though she let her Pokemon have a few bites). Chloe couldn’t remember the last time she felt this content and warm as she and Beca talked.

She wanted to blurt out all of her feelings, and she almost did until Beca gave Cubone a pointed look and jabbed her head in the direction of the bedroom. Cubone jumped off of Chloe’s lap and ran in, narrowly avoiding Venusaur, still asleep on Chloe’s bedroom floor.

Cubone returned to Chloe with a wrapped box in hand.

“What’s this?” Chloe took the box from Cubone and played with the little bow on top.

“It wouldn’t be your birthday without a present,” Beca said before leaning across the table and stage-whispering, “Cubone’s gonna say it was all him, but I did the choosing and the paying.”

Beca was so close to Chloe now, and she could barely think about the present in her hand until Beca leaned back in her chair and said, “Well, are you going to open it?”

“Right, that’s what people generally do with presents, isn’t it?” Chloe joked to try and cover her distraction.

“Apparently not you,” Beca said with a wink, and Chloe was confident. She flirted with ease and was never lost for words, but something about Beca Mitchell made every word in the English language leave her brain in an instant.

“I’m getting there. I just like to build suspense.”

“You’re just getting me back for all the mystery.”

Chloe smiled, “That’s also true.”

Chloe finally ripped the wrapping off of the box and found a framed picture of her and Beca from her visit to Sinnoh, Cubone waving excitedly at the camera, and underneath the frame was a nice leather-bound notebook and a pack of new pens.

“I figure you go through a ton of notebooks with all of your research, and a new notebook needed new pens to go with it.”

“And the picture?” Chloe ran her fingers over the glass protecting the picture inside.

Beca smiled, “You have pictures of Aubrey, Stacey, and you and pictures of you and your parents. I figured it’d be nice to have a picture of the two of us, too.”

Chloe felt tears sting her eyes, because everything about the present and the dinner was thoughtful and perfect, and all the “likes,” every single on of them, disappeared, being replaced with “loves,” because without question, Chloe Beale loved Beca Mitchell.

“Thank you, Beca,” Chloe whispered as she held the frame against her chest, “It’s perfect.”

Beca’s smile grew softer, “I’m glad you liked it.”

“But Cubone chose it, right?” Chloe laughed as she wiped a stray tear from under her eye.

Cubone looked up at her with his head tilted to the side at the mention of his name.

“Like I said. He’s going to claim he did, but just know that I’m the one who did a majority of the work. He just pointed.”

“Well, thank you, bud,” Chloe pat Cubone on the head, “I loved it.”

Cubone smiled at her and then ran off to play with Eevee and Vileplume in the living room.

“Hey, Chloe?”

Chloe was about to get up to help clear the table, but stopped and sat back down, “Yeah?”

“There’s something I want to tell you.”

Chloe set her present off to the side and gave Beca a confused look, “Okay.”

“It’s just,” Beca ran a hand through her hair, and Chloe wondered what she was so nervous about, “I really want to tell you this, but I’m horrible at feelings, so I’m probably going to mess this up.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m,” Beca sighed and smiled, “I’m more than okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“I promise,” Beca looked at Chloe as she paused, then said, “Did you know that you have the warmest smile of anyone I’ve ever met? I mean, I just look at you and it’s like sunshine and clear days, even when it’s actually storming outside.”

Chloe smiled but didn’t interrupt. She didn’t know where Beca was going with this, but she figured she just had to let Beca ramble to get to her point.

“And I used to be so jealous of you when we were kids,” Beca continued, “You were so happy just to take your time and get through the gyms whenever your Pokemon were ready, and all I could think about was being the best and winning every badge I could so that I could prove to everyone that I was better than they thought I was. I thought I had to make fun of you and demean you, but really, you understood this whole thing a lot better than I did. While I was focused on winning, you were focused on your Pokemon and they’re all so amazing, Chlo. _You’re_ so amazing, far more amazing than I will ever be.”

Beca paused to take a deep breath and she smiled like she wasn’t nervous anymore. It was the same smile she got during a battle when she knew she was going to win, confident and self-assured.

“I don’t know when I started to fall for you, Chloe. I just know that when I did, I fell hard, and I could pretend like it’s this horrible thing, but I know it’s not, because liking you, falling for you, could never be horrible.”

Chloe froze, because there’s no way Beca just said what she thought she said. There’s no way Beca just confessed her feelings to Chloe after that perfect dinner and thoughtful gift.

That would be almost too perfect.

“You like me?” Chloe breathed out.

“I really do.”

Chloe didn’t know what to do. There were too many words swimming in her head for her to say anything coherent, so she got up from her seat and rounded the table to pull Beca against her, kissing her just like she’s wanted to since she was seventeen and she realized what the warmth in her chest meant whenever she was around Beca.

Beca stood and wrapped her arms around Chloe’s waist, grabbing onto Chloe’s shirt tightly to steady herself. Chloe moved her fingers into Beca’s hair, and she had run her fingers through Beca’s hair before, but this was different. This time she heard Beca hum into the kiss whenever Chloe ran her nails over Beca’s scalp and Beca gasped against Chloe’s lips when she pulled gently.

Chloe pulled away to catch her breath, and Beca continued to trail kisses over Chloe’s cheek and jaw.

“Seventeen,” Chloe breathed out, and Beca pulled away from kissing just below Chloe’s ears with her brows pulled together in confusion.

“What?”

“You said you didn’t know when you started to fall for me,” Chloe said, breathing heavily, “But I know exactly when I started to fall for you. We were seventeen, and we were at a Pokemon sanctuary watching how the Oddish interacted with one another, and you were sitting in the grass, covered in Pokemon and laughing as each of them tried to get your attention. That’s when I fell for you.”

Beca smiled that just-for-Chloe smile, “That long ago?”

“I never thought you would like me back.”

“I would be stupid if I didn’t,” Beca said before leaning in to kiss Chloe again, and Chloe could feel Beca nudging them across the living room into the bedroom, opening the door clumsily and falling onto the bed in a heap.

All of the Pokemon were locked out of the room except for-

“Venusaur.”

“What?” Beca came up from kissing along Chloe’s collarbone.

Chloe pointed to Venusaur giving them a disinterested look as they interrupted her nap.

Beca dropped her head into the crook of Chloe’s neck and breathed out a laugh, “Do you have her Pokeball?”

Chloe was already fumbling around with everything on her bedside table, “I know it’s around here somewhere.” It took a few more moments of blindly grabbing, but Chloe finally found Venusaur’s Pokeball and the red beam reached out and returned Venusaur inside of it.

“There,” Chloe set the ball back on the nightstand, “Now it’s just us.”

Beca kissed Chloe right in front of her ear and breathed out, “I like the sound of that.”

Later, as Chloe held Beca and pressed kisses along her shoulder and against the back of her neck, Chloe thought about their future.

Eventually, Chloe and Beca would officially move in together, after Beca came in first in the Unova League and decided against continuing on to Kalos or Alola. 

Eventually, Beca would replace Giovanni as Vermillion City’s gym leader. She would be hard to beat, but she would smile as she gave the winners their new Earth Badge, telling Chloe all about the battles when she got home.

Eventually, Chloe would become well known across many regions for her research, accepting awards and writing papers that gave a deeper look into the habits of different species of Pokemon.

Eventually, Chloe and Beca would get married in a small ceremony in Pallet Town, and they would have a daughter who would start her own Pokemon journey when she turned ten. (Their daughter would choose Bulbasaur as her starter, and Chloe would never let Beca hear the end of it.)

Eventually, they would have a life together full of traveling and adventures. They would tell and show each other how much they love the other during fights and over breakfasts on Sundays spent lazing around, but right then, Chloe was happy to have Beca against her now at the beginning of it all.

**Author's Note:**

> There it is, folks. I don't even know what to say. I really hope you enjoyed it, and I would love to read any comments anyone might have. I definitely did a lot of research for this fic, and I did a weird mix of the video games and the cartoon to make it make sense. Bulbapedia was my best friend over the three days it took to write this fic. Also, for anyone out there who watched the cartoon, I hope you liked the not-so-subtle nod to the show.
> 
> Also, I know their teams shift a lot, but for the battle in Vermillion Forest, Beca's team is Charizard, Gengar, Marowak, Scyther, Pinsir, and Gyarados, and Chloe's team is Venusaur, Nidoqueen, Clefable, Rapidash, Dewgong, and Cubone. In the scene where Beca and Chloe are essentially living together, Beca's team is Charizard, Persian, Primeape, Muk, Gengar, and Flareon, and Chloe's team is Venusaur, Sandshrew, Clefable, Vileplume, Cubone, and Eevee (though in the scene right after, I had her replace Sandshrew with Abra).
> 
> You can also find me over on Tumblr at hellofromthe-otter-slide, because I think I'm funny.
> 
> Have a splendid day!


End file.
